Magical thinking: Is there a plus side?

[LiberalAndProud]

Last edited Sun Mar 22, 2015, 02:44 PM - Edit history (1)

If ever there were children disconnected from reality, the girls would be them: According to the criminal complaint, the two discovered Slender Man on Creepypasta Wiki, a website dedicated to Internet horror stories, and they totally believed he was a real thing. In order to become Slender Man “proxies,” they needed to kill someone. After stabbing Leutner, they headed to the forest, where they believed— à la the Brothers Grimm—that they could hang out happily with Slender Man in his mansion. After they were arrested, one of the girls told police that Slender Man was “a tall, faceless man who preys on children,” who “watches you.” She added, “I’ve never seen him. He’s everywhere.”

One defendant believes in unicorns and says she can communicate with Lord Voldemort and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/03/slender_man_defendants_trying_12_year_olds_as_adults_is_illogical_and_barbaric.html

I can't think of a circumstance that might be improved by thinking magically, yet there have been so many tragic consequences.

[LostOne4Ever]

1. Good story telling?

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]But then again, I am horribly biased toward the fantasy and sci-fi genres.[/font]

[Curmudgeoness]

2. It's spring.

Isn't it time to get rid of that snow on those poor owls?

[LostOne4Ever]

4. Winter is coming...

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]In 8 to 9 months[/font] [center]


[/center]

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Yeah, you have a point.

I'm not feeling it either....but I damned well am trying to get into the season!

[Heddi]

12. rofl

That's awesome! That owl's like nuh-uh, Ned

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Sure there is a plus side.

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.....once I didn't believe anymore, the thrill was gone.

But besides that, I don't see an up side. And that story is freaking insane!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. Religion = magic

And your question remains a good one.

[LiberalAndProud]

6. I do believe religion is mostly magical thinking,

and can be equally as dangerous as these girls' misapprehensions.

[Arugula Latte]

7. I guess for some people

who live squalid, horrible lives, religion can give them hope that there short, brutish lives are not the end, but that they'll live on in a magical happy fairyland after death and reunite with their dead loved ones. I guess it helps them get through this life. If they just believe that for themselves it's one thing, but the consequences of mass magical thinking on society have been devastating, as we've seen.

[LiberalAndProud]

8. I've sampled better opiates.

Just saying.

[mountain grammy]

13. Many of the religious are middle class or upper middle class..

They are the ones tithing to the mega churches and supporting all the local preachers who are railing against a secular nation. My in-laws are living the good life in Lubbock, supporting their local right wing Baptist church which assures them the Muslim president will bring on the blessed rapture, and they are definitely among the saved. Their lives are anything but brutish, but they do look forward to the magical fairyland after death and are quite upset because our little branch of the family tree won't be joining them.

[trotsky]

15. I'd like to frame your post.

Especially this line:

If they just believe that for themselves it's one thing, but the consequences of mass magical thinking on society have been devastating, as we've seen.

[AlbertCat]

9. says she can communicate with.... the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Lordy... I was Raphael's dresser on the 1st live action movie..... and I STILL couldn't communicate with them.

[trotsky]

16. Each turtle had their own attendant?

Nice!

[AlbertCat]

18. Each turtle had their own attendant?

They had to.

It took about 45 minutes to get into the turtle outfit...where things laced together and electronics had to be hooked up. Once in the thing, they cannot see except right in front of them so we had to lead them around, put a stool under them so they could sit, they had to be fed liquids thru a straw every 10 minutes or so (the latex foam soaked up sweat until the guys were dehydrated), and the heads had to come off between takes.

Then there's also the "stunt" turtles.... the stunt doubles from Korea who did all the kung fu stuff. Their suits had no electronics so they were light and the guys could move around in them better. None of these guys spoke English.

[trotsky]

19. Cool. Thanks for that background info.

Never saw the film but very interesting.

[Warpy]

11. Well, magical thinkers do tend to go through life

in a haze of complete self confidence and fiction of invulnerability. Even if they get cancer, they think nothing bad can really happen to them because magic.

[mountain grammy]

14. When you come right down to it, they are children.

Children. I look at my granddaughters and can't even imagine...

[RussBLib]

17. would you consider the power of positive thinking to be magical thinking?

I feel confident that your use of the term "magical thinking" is pointed at religion, but could there be more to it than just a belief in an imaginary being?

I think there is something indeed to the power of positive thinking. Something. Not sure what, but repeating positive messages to yourself has been shown, in some cases, to produce better outcomes. Is that magic?

It's a little similar to the placebo effect. You take a sugar pill but can exhibit results typical of what an actual pill would produce. Since you believe the pill will help you, it does.

Does that count as magical thinking?

[LiberalAndProud]

20. Good question.

Visualization. Ask the universe for what you want and you will get it. There is magical thinking in that. I think it's possible, even likely, to interpret life events to make them fit your narrative, whatever your belief. And I think I could make a solid argument that there are negative life effects attached to that kind of thinking. Still, confidence and bravado certainly can contribute to positive outcomes.